Chorioactis geaster
Chorioactis geaster (Peck) Kupfer, Bull. Torrey bot. Club 29: 142 (1902)
= Kumanasamuha geaster H. Nagao, S. Kurogi et E. Kiyota
Facesoffungi number: FoF 04205
Saprobic on soil. Sexual morph: Apothecia up to 12 cm
diam., gregarious, stipitate, erumpent, ovoid, blackishbrown. Stipe up to 10 cm, often buried, long, cylindrical. Receptacle clavate or spindle-shaped when immature, splitting into four to seven rays at maturity. Hairs two types: (1) short, light brown, broad and blunt apices, prickles present on the lower portions; (2) long tapering, acute apices, walls brown and prickly. Ectal excipulum composed of brown-walled cells of textura intricata to angularis. Medullary excipulum composed of whitish cells of textura intricata. Hymenium yellowish to saffron salmon. Paraphyses filiform at immature stage and moniliform at mature stage. Asci up to 700 µm, 8-spored, operculate. Ascospores up to 75 µm, fusiform, inequilateral. Asexual morph: Colonies on natural substrate brown floccose or woolly. Aerial hyphae branched, superficial, tapering toward the apex, walls verrucose, dark brown, septate. Conidiophores erect, macronematous, mononematous, verticillately branched at the upper part, walls verrucose. Conidiogenous cells discrete, thick-walled, dark brown to pale brown, subglobose, thin-walled, apically
hollow scared rachis. Conidia 5–7 x 3–5 µm, solitary, dry, oval to ellipsoidal, dark brown, verrucose, aseptate (Description modified from Nagao et al. 2009; Pfister et al. 2008a, b).
Notes: Chorioactis geaster is characterized by its unique form of ascomatal splitting (Pfister et al. 2008a, b). The splitting of the ascomata is the result of the swelling of the paraphyses (Seaver 1942; Wolf 1958; Pfister et al. 2008a, b). The asexual morph of Chorioactis geaster was originally described as Kumanasamuha geaster (Nagao et al. 2009). The asexual morph of Chorioactis geaster differs from other asexual morphs in the genus from the shape of the conidiogenous cells (Nagao et al. 2009). 
Morphology of Chorioactis geaster. a Habit of apothecium, b ellipsoid conidia, c, d conidiophore (Redrawn from Nagao et al. 2009; Pfister et al. 2008a, b)
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